Page 15 of Honey Mead Murder

His cousin had a dim view of private investigators. She’d likely not appreciate amateur detectives either. He decided not to worry about it.

Not today, anyway.

Today, Murphy planned to have a less eventful second date with George. Less murder, more conversation and kissing. Though, if they were going to ask questions, it wouldn’t be without at least a hint of the macabre.

A few hours later, Murphy had showered and changed. He’d chatted with his dad and granddad, reassuring them he hadn’t been thrown into solitary confinement. Teagan had also called to check in on him; they’d offered to meet up with him in the village.

The grey skies suited his mood when Murphy finally ventured outside. His lips twitched in amusement when he spotted George and Bumble walking towards him. The latter had a wee raincoat on him, complete with a hat.

“Did you dress up for the date, Bumble?” Murphy crouched down to give his chin a scratch. “Aren’t you a sight?”

“He doesn’t enjoy the rain,” George muttered defensively.

“Well, he is closer to the ground.” Murphy winked at him and then got to his feet. “I can’t say I blame him.”

They stood awkwardly for a moment. Murphy waited it out. He didn’t want to push George for anything or make him uncomfortable.

George’s gaze darted around before landing on Murphy’s nose. He lunged forward and grabbed him by the arms. “Kissing is okay? Right?”

“More than.” Murphy was impressed by the strength in George’s fingers, which held him tightly by the forearms. He bent a little to meet him halfway. “Kissing might become my favourite way to pass the time.”

“You’re daft.” George released him when Bumble complained loudly at them. “Have we ignored you too much?”

“Right. Into the village, we go.” Murphy laughed when Bumble gave a little shake and ambled along in front of them. “I’d say he's ready to go.”

“It’s late enough in the afternoon. I thought we could meander down Balvenie Street. We can pop into the Coffee Pot for a fresh brew. We’ll likely run into Darren Fishwick. He’ll probably be near the florist, where his wife works.” George had obviously put in a fair amount of thought. “Margo’s going to see if she can’t speak to Ella Donelson. I doubt she’d be amenable to speaking to either of us, particularly since she’s still telling anyone who’ll listen you killed her husband.”

“Maybe don’t say that part out loud?” Murphy winced. He knew how rumours flew around a small village. “Here’s hoping people know me well enough to know it’s a load of shite.”

“If they don’t, we’ll have to prove it to them,” George stated quite firmly. He had a fierce look in his eyes. “I’ll send my bees after them.”

“Do your bees attack on command?”

“I’ll figure it out.” George nudged him with his elbow. “How hard can it be to make a squadron of attack bees?”

“Not sure it’s going to help convince people I’m too mild-mannered to have done this.” Murphy threw his arm around George. He couldn’t help the little thrill of finally being free to show his affection for the man beside him. Teagan had been right; he was daft for not asking him out sooner. “You’ve trained them not to attack you.”

“Not so much trained them but learned how to be at one with the bees.” George purposefully made it sound far more dramatic than it needed to be. They both chuckled for a second. “They’re lovely, my little hive monsters. I don’t know why people are so afraid of them.”

“Stings.”

“They only sting if you don’t respect them.” George adjusted his hold on Bumble’s leash, allowing him to lean closer to Murphy. “People are going to suspect we’re stepping out.”

“Stepping out?”

“The words my auntie used when Margo told her about our first date. I think the exact phrase was, ‘he’s stepping out with his young man.’” George seemed to find it entertaining.

“Is your auntie perhaps stuck in a time warp?” Murphy dodged around some muck in the road. “Sarah told me to stay out of trouble.”

“Okay.”

“Sarah also used to eat crayons.” Murphy knew she wouldn’t necessarily appreciate the reminder. Detective Constable Baird took herself quite seriously. “I’m not overly concerned about her telling me to stay out of trouble. But, let’s not just run up to our suspects and ask if they killed someone.”

“We can be subtle.” George didn’t sound entirely confident. He did struggle at times with being too blunt. He tended to prefer getting straight to the point. “When in doubt, distract them with Bumble. Plus, Margo’s already laid some of the groundwork for us. She asked around some of her friends who still work with the ambulance service. One of them confirmed seeing Ella and Darren exchanging more than a friendly peck on the cheek.”

“Are you ready to be an accessory, Bumble?” Murphy heard a vehicle coming up the lane behind them. He had a split second to glance over his shoulder before snatching up the pug and dragging George out of the way. They watched it go roaring past them far too quickly for the narrow road. “What the bloody hell were they thinking?”

“Did you get the vehicle registration?”

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